Hi everyone! Happy to see this format finally getting the attention it deserved, and today I will be talking about the pokemon that are Good rank and above in my viable mons list I did early in the format (yes I will fully update it eventually, my vpn being stable is not under my control).
Very Good
Incineroar
Is still one of the best pivots in the entire tier and has one of the best typings into the tier. Its main downsides are being a Fire-type neutral to Fairy and Covert Cloak and Clear Amulet coming to be. But I do not think this holds Incineroar back from being one of the best mons in the tier.
Rillaboom
Rillaboom is still very much Rillaboom, even with the nerfed Grassy Glide BP. Rillaboom is still a core part of Terrain Wars and has a really cool typing into a lot of the meta, and being able to tera or use Z-Moves really boosts its already insane viability.
Tapu Fini
This may seem odd as after Swagger ban but support Tapu Fini sets still live on even with it banned. But that is not the main part of Tapu Fini anymore, it is Calm Mind with Tera. Making its previous weaknesses into resistances commonly against common mons like the aforementioned Rillaboom.
Good
Amoonguss
Redirection and Pollen Puff are insanely strong but being a Grass-type not resistant to Ground is a burden. Amoonguss tends to be fodder against more offensive teams but it does wonderfully into Balance teams, spamming Spore to force out stuff, healing allies and healing itself with Regenerator.
Annihilape
Very Tera hungry half consistent sweeper that needs support and does not like the offensive meta we are in. Still does Annihilape things either way.
Mega Camerupt
Best Trick Room abuser by far but can be outplayed easily with most of the meta mons. Mega Salamence especially gives it a tough time. Still a very strong breaker, those Sheer Force Heat Waves are nothing to ignore.
Celesteela
With its ever annoying Leech Seed set and Meteor Beam set, Celesteela can be threatening to a lot of teams. Even though it can be Tera hungry in this Fire-type infested meta it is still very much a good mon.
Mega Charizard Y
This mon is a backpain. Not only is it a good mon on its own, it also enables other sun abusers to the point of annoyance and distaste for the playstyle. Cannot express my hate for this mon with words. But I have to acknowledge the fact that this is a real threat.
Chi-Yu
Sun abuser and helper in one again. Sun is really eating well this format huh? Beads of Ruin helps both Charizard and Flutter Mane do explosive damage on top of it also firing off very strong Heat Waves.
Chien-Pao
Same old Chien-Pao as in SV, but it gained a new broken friend in Genesect! But then again it gained a few checks (Tapu Fini, Incineroar, Urshifu-RS) but this does not stop its supportive capabilities with Sword of Ruin.
Diancie
Good TR abuser and setter and switches into a bunch of stuff like Chi-Yu and Mega Charizard but I think power creep has caught onto Diancie. The hits are getting a bit too ridiculous for the pretty rock to eat consistently.
Dondozo
Dondozo is so much more handleable in this tier, to the extent that in Dondozo teams most of the value is on hazards, not Dondozo itself. But it is still a force to consider in builder and can screw over a bunch of teams if they do not thread lightly.
Dracovish
Best sand abuser by far. Even though I do not consider Choice Band Dracovish to be the set, Life Orb is still very much a threat especially with Tera Water. This combined with the fact that I think sand is very good right now makes Dracovish deserve a spot.
Flutter Mane
Well well well, Flutter Mane. How does it succeed on being broken now? Simple, Melmetal ban + good Drought mon. Flutter Mane is a very strong and fast pokemon that has a really good STAB combo, and utilises Sun and cranks its power up to 11. It is so fast and strong it can get away with running bulky sets and being even more of a nuicance. This is the only mon from "Good" tier that I considered on putting in "Very Good" for a reason.
Genesect
Genesect pulls off the same old things it has for generations, but now it gets STAB on its moves like Extreme Speed and Thunderbolt with the help of Tera. This makes Genesect a very good breaker and cleaner.
Glimmora
Hazard demand is ever increasing and Glimmora has a monopoly on the market. With its offensive capabilities and ability, Glimmora is a consistently competent hazard setter. Toxic Spikes are especially huge with setup like Annihilape and Dondozo.
Gothitelle
Trapping is good, Fake Out is good, Taunt is good, Trick Room is good. So Gothitelle is good. Its Psychic typing and it not being able to spam Hypnosis due to the pace of the meta makes it not tough to beat. Also is a kind of underexplored mon.
Great Tusk
Another one of suns nuclear bombs. Great Tusks main niche is sun though, its pretty much outclassed by both of the Landorus and Zygarde at pretty much everything else.
Heatran
Honestly not very high on Heatran. Heatran supposedly has good matchups into a lot of stuff like Sun and Rillaboom but it feels really underwhelming. One of the only mons in "Good" that can easily be ranked as "Niche".
Indeedee-Female
Indeedee-F is a core part of Terrain Wars, serving as the more defensively inclined Psychic Terrain mon, giving gateways to pokemon like Annihilape to setup. It also got Trick Room this generation which is a good addition to its kit.
Iron Bundle
Mostly does the same stuff it does in SV, but there is an actual Electric Terrain setter in the tier and it takes advantage of that greatly. But it has new checks in Rillaboom and Volcanion, so it is not as great as it is in SV.
Iron Hands
Another SV broken mon falling right? Wrong, Iron Hands manages to carve itself out a niche. Great bulk and power, unique typing, having access to moves like Fake Out and Swords Dance makes itself a very good pokemon on various teams, most commonly on Electric Terrain and Trick Room compositions.
Jirachi
Best redirection in the tier by far. It has an excellent typing and pairs up really well with the setup mons that are present in Zygarde, Annihilape, Urshifus, and Mega Salamence. Also has other very good moves like Stealth Rock, Encore, Trick Room, Thunder Wave.
Mega Kangaskhan
Another underexplored mon that I think has more potential than Gothitelle. It has access to Fake Out and its Seismic Toss can threaten a 2HKO on most mons in the tier.
Kartana
Kartana is definitely a pretty anti-meta pokemon in that most structures that are not Sun do not pack a consistent enough answer to Kartana. This is just a really valuable and powerful pokemon with access to Tailwind, which sets it apart from the other strong breakers.
Kyurem-Black
Both Assault Vest and Dragon Dance Kyurem-Black are really good especially after Melmetal ban. Assault Vest can take advantage of Tera to turn itself into a type like Electric or Water to make it even more unbearable to take down. The addition of Loaded Dice and Clear Amulet also make the Dragon Dance set very threatening. And that set benefits from Tera Electric too.
Landorus-Incarnate
With its really nice Speed tier, new Sandsear Storm, access to Taunt and Nasty Plot, Landorus-I is a threat and a half. With Tera Landorus is a killing machine. Sandsear Storm is great spread damage, Earth Power can be used for consistency, Sludge Bomb hits Rillaboom, Taunt prevents opposing Speed control, Substitute makes it immune to Fake Out. Landorus is a strong pokemon with many options.
Landorus-Therian
Landorus' Therian forme is less viable than its Incarnate counterpart, with less speed and damage options, but it is still very versatile and far from bad. Flyinium-Z, Groundium-Z, Assault Vest, Choice Scarf, even Choice Band paired with Chien-Pao are all threatening sets. Landorus Therian's Intimidate also makes it stand out from Landorus Incarnate, making it be able to take hits from Zygarde, Marshadow, Genesect etc.
Mega Lucario
A really strong Chien-Pao partner with a decent Speed tier and STAB Adaptability priority in Bullet Punch. This mon really hurts and not much really contests its damage when paired with Chien-Pao.
Mega Manectric
A fast intimidate pivot with a rare but good typing makes Mega Manectric find a solid place in the meta. Its Volt Switches threaten out a lot and it can fire off Snarls, Overheats, Hidden Power Ice to unsuspecting switch-ins like Bulky Flutter Mane, Rillaboom, Landorus, and Zygarde.
Marshadow
With one of the best offensive STAB combos in the game, a godly speed tier, and the ability to shut down any stat boosts with the click of a button, Marshadow is a threatening piece of the metagame. Although 120 attack can be lackluster at times and Marshadow can miss KOs, it is a great pokemon either way.
Mega Metagross
The best offensive mega by a large margin, with its access to Tough Claws STAB Steel Roller, coverage for Landorus-T, Incineroar, and Volcanion, and a fantastic typing. Mega Metagross is one of the strongest mons in the meta with really good bulk and speed, making it extra threatening.
Mew
Mew still achieves to be one of the most annoying and unpredictable mons in the entire tier while getting consistent value, whether it be with Fake Out, Tailwind, Hazards, Status, or even just slotting random coverage for teams weaknesses.
Naganadel
Naganadel is an okay fast Tailwind setter, with the ability to outspeed Mega Salamence and threaten a lot of pokemon like Rillaboom out. Heatran being not too great also makes this mon a pain to check.
Necrozma
Still by far one of the best Psychic Terrain abusers, with its deadly Meteor Beam and +1 Expanding Force, Necrozma is the best pick for PsySpam Trick Room especially since these teams like to run other megas (mainly Mega Camerupt).
Politoed
Best Rain setter, has access to important utility moves like Helping Hand, Haze, Icy Wind, and Encore. Its overall bulk makes it able to live a hit and get out with Eject Button safely, making it a reliable setter.
Porygon2
This bulky Trick Room setter finally gets to get rid of its Normal-typing. Both Tera Ghost and Tera Fairy are good sets and make Porygon2 even more unkillable. It is also the most consistent setter of Trick Room due to this bulk.
Regieleki
Being able to Tera has helped Regieleki a lot. Even though Tera Ice is weak it can still win some matchups, Tera Electric shreds everything thats not a Ground-type with ease. Running it on Electric Terrain makes Regieleki even more potent.
Mega Salamence
Mega Salamence is one of the best if not the best mega in the tier. With two of its sets being incredibly strong in their own rights. Tailwind Mega Salamence has incredible flexibility and can be fit on a lot of teams due to its unique defensive and offensive profile. And Dragon Dance is a powerful sweeper that is contrasted well with the redirectors of the tier, mainly Jirachi.
Smeargle
Even though Smeargle has awful stats, it makes up for it with its access to Decorate, Fake Out, Spore, Revival Blessing, and Moody. Even though Smeargle is not by any means a splashable mon, if you can slot it in, it will do its job.
Mega Swampert
The meta is quite hostile towards Mega Swampert, with Tapu Fini, Rillaboom, Mega Salamence out and about trying to ruin it. And although Swampert does take a hit from viability, it is by no means not good. It has very good power in combination with coverage for Rillaboom and Mega Salamence, so with enough support in Rain, Mega Swampert can still thrive.
Tapu Koko
Tapu Koko is purely a Electric Terrain setter. But do not count it off for being solely a setter, Tapu Koko sets up a very threatening archetype and can be threatening in its own right since Electric is such a good type.
Tapu Lele
The more offensively geared Psychic Terrain setter finds itself a place in more offensive archetypes, providing a lot of damage while still bringing the utility of Psychic Terrain.
Tatsugiri
Dondozo's "roommate" has the exact same issues Dondozo does, read that.
Ting-Lu
Ting-Lu does wonders into this more Special Attack oriented metagame. Its great typing and bulk complimented with the powerful Hazards and Ruination makes this wall not so passive and makes it get a lot of value.
Tornadus-Incarnate
Prankster Tailwind is valuable as ever. And with its newly added Bleakwind Storm and Covert Cloak, Tornadus-I made itself a good offensive Tailwind pick. Although it has less utility moves than Whimsicott, the typing and power make up for it.
Tsareena
With priority like Fake Out, Grassy Glide, Bullet Punch, Extreme Speed, and Sucker Punch being more popular than ever, Tsareena finds itself in a good spot. Although its typing competes with Rillaboom, teams that do not want Rillaboom can take advantage of the typing greatly.
Mega Tyranitar
Mega Tyranitar is a more offensive version of Ting-Lu, with a 164 Attack stat it can put Sun out of its misery with powerful Stone Edges and Low Kicks. Although Rock Dark is generally frowned upon as a typing, it does pretty good into this meta, resisting Dark, Fire, Flying, and Ghost is pretty huge.
Tyranitar
Basically worse Mega Tyranitar in every aspect, except you preserve the mega slot and give Tyranitar an item and the ability to Tera.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
Being the more defensively capable Urshifu, Urshifu-RS finds itself having a spot on Balance teams due to its solid bulk, incredible typing and power. Surging Strikes is critical on hitting Intimidate users and neither Urshifus power can be avoided with Protect. With their new access to Swords Dance, they can also be potent setup sweepers.
Urshifu-Single-Strike
Urshifu-SS is the more offensively inclined Urshifu, having a better secondary STAB and a better secondary move in Sucker Punch. Even though Fighting Dark dual typing with just okay bulk doesn't seem like it can pull off Swords Dance, with Focus Sash and redirection this Urshifu can also utilise Swords Dance.
Volcanion
Volcanion has a very good and unique typing paired with a really good ability for it in Water Absorb. This makes Volcanion a great check to pokemon like Iron Bundle and Walking Wake while keeping its offensive profile. It is a prime utiliser of Z-Moves and can run items like Leftovers, Safety Goggles, and Assault Vest.
Walking Wake
Another one of Sun's deadly weapons, Walking Wake is a power house with Sun boosted Hydro Steam and Draco Meteor. Few pokemon can actually switch into its attacks but these mons also happen to be near the top of the tier list.
Whimsicott
The more annoying Prankster Tailwind setter Whimsicott while being nowhere near as offensively threatening, its utility toolbox in Encore, Taunt, Fake Tears, and Helping Hand make it exert a lot of pressure.
Zamazenta
Zamazenta is a Coaching bot. But it is good at being a Coaching bot, with an incredible base Speed stat and bulk. Coaching is also just very important for a lot of mons like Zygarde, Genesect, Urshifu, and even Ting-Lu.
Zygarde
Zygarde is an incredible offensive pokemon that has a very strong spread STAB move in Thousand Arrows while being able to boost it with Tera. That is not all about Zygarde though, as Dragon Dance sets are also very potent with Tera and Clear Amulet.
Thoughts on the Metagame
Sun feels very frustrating as of right now, not only is it boosting the viability of already very good mons, it is also supported by very good mons that makes the archetype so oppressive in the first place. I fear this may devolve into Weather Wars in the future, as the best way I have found to combat Sun was running my own weather (mostly Sand as Tyranitar has a good matchup into most sun pokemon in general). This I feel is pretty unhealthy for the meta and even with ways to combat Sun, Sun always has a fighting chance due to its beneficiaries being so good even by themselves. Hyper Offense and Fat teams are also nearly completely invalidated by Sun, to the point where I have genuinely considered running Shadow Ball Blissey on Fat.
My Favourite Team
The goal behind this team when I was building this was getting a Balance to cteam against Sun. While it is also good against Sun, this team evolved to be way more viable than I anticipated and quickly grew on me. Tyranitar and Volcanion are both criminally underrated pokemon as of right now, I hope they get more attention in the future. Jirachi + Zygarde is a broken combo, Tornadus is way too under appreciated and Rillabooms need to run Tera Blast more often. That's all from me, if you read this till the end, have a good day (otherwise have a slightly worse than good day :3).
